When it comes to taking care of your home, proper maintenance of your heating and cooling systems is crucial. Without expert HVAC service on a regular basis, you could easily find yourself losing money on your energy bill. In fact, heating and cooling systems typically make up at least half of the average household’s energy bill – sometimes more if these systems are not functioning properly.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to keep your heating and cooling systems working to the highest possible efficiency. For example, the average furnace, if well maintained, can last for nearly twenty years. This, of course, saves the household the cost of a new furnace. However, once a furnace reaches more than around fifteen years of age, it is important for general contractor services to take a look at it every single year, in order to properly service it and take care of any problems that may occur. When it’s time to replace your furnace, as it eventually will be no matter how diligently you care for it, it will more likely than not be in your best interest to purchase a high efficiency furnace. Some high efficiency furnaces can actually achieve near total efficiency at around 97%, but it is illegal for a furnace to be functioning at below 78% efficiency.
Air conditioning is another area where energy can often be wasted, as around two out of every three homes in the United States alone has some type of air conditioner, and air conditioning, along with heating, typically makes up around half of the household energy bill. In total, air conditioning systems cost households in the United States over 10 billion dollars every single year. Traditional ductwork is often the culprit for energy loss is regards to air conditioning systems, as they can have cooling losses of up to 40%. A ductless mini split heating and cooling system can help to prevent a good amount of these losses, and regular maintenance of any type of air conditioning system is also recommended. Switching to a high efficiency air conditioning system is also a smart option when it comes to saving energy, as it can save up to 50% on the average energy bill per household.
No matter what type of heating and cooling system you have, proper maintenance is crucial. Proper maintenance and regular servicing can help to spot problems before they become truly problematic as well as preventing problems from occurring through regular servicing. Updating to an energy efficient system can also help to save money in the long run.